Author Archives: Brighid Brown

Button Ups: Some Helpful Button Making Dos (and one don’t…)

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Everyone has heard of the phrases “thumbs up” and “thumbs down.”

When you agree with something, or when something is good, you give it a thumbs up to emphasize your agreement. When you disagree with something, or when something is not good, you give it a thumbs down to emphasize your disagreement.

Well here at American Button Machines, we do this…but a little differently. And – surprise, surprise! – our version of it includes buttons.

When something is good that we like, we say button ups! And when something doesn’t meet our approval, we say, button downs. And yes, we actually have “up” and “down” buttons here at the HQ that we sometimes use for extra emphasis.*

Today, we are going to highlight a few specific button ups (and one button down) that we’re thinking about as another week comes to a close.

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Make your own chunky necklaces!

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I know what you’re thinking: wait, you mean a button machine merchant can help me make necklaces?

You bet we can!

Not only do we have a 1.5″ necklace kit that works with paper or fabric buttons, we also have an adjustable necklace you can use to proudly and fashionably wear your button necklace.

And that’s not all.

We are actually the only place where you turn your incredible, wonderful, charming buttons into a chunky necklace that will make you the envy of buttoneers everywhere!

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Make Your Own Buttons!

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America is the greatest nation on earth because she is a nation infused with a spirit of action, initiative, and personal accountability. We are a nation of doers, of problem solvers, and of people who love to take matters into our own hands.

And that is why we beam with pride whenever we think about our customers, because they are a shining example of this inimitable American spirit.

Each person who buys a button machine and buys supplies from ABM could very easily find an “easier” (though not cheaper) way to get their buttons made, but they don’t. They take matters into their own hands – quite literally – and manifest the American spirit by doing it themselves.

Furthermore, many of the people who buy from us take it the next step and do more than just make their own buttons; they create custom orders for others! Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of the American economy and our button maker systems have been the foundation for many a successful small business.

Yep, we love our customers.

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Busy Beaver Button Co. in Chicago Celebrates the Wonderful World of Pinback Buttons!

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Chicago is a wonderful city. It has great food, great shopping, professional sports team year-round, and a rich and compelling history. The Windy City also has museums, lots of them, many of which are very intriguing. And the most intriguing of them all may be one that I just read about for the first time: the Busy Beaver Button Co.

What is it about the Busy Beaver Button Co. that makes it sound so intriguing? It is a museum entirely – entirely – dedicated to pinback buttons. How awesome is that!?

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Fun Button Business Idea: Attend or Host a Craft Show!

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Have you been looking for a way to sell your homemade custom buttons (that you, of course, made with a button maker system from ABM)? While sites like Etsy.com provide a nice online venue, it is much easier for people to appreciate your handiwork, and make the decision to buy, when they can meet you and see your buttons in person.

Thus, we suggest seeking out an open house craft show where you can showcase and sell your buttons.

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Button Maker Usability Comparison: American v Chinese Button Makers

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Over the last two days here at The Button Blog, we have discussed some of the differences between button makers made in America and those made in China. If you want to get caught up before this post, here are the links to the other two posts:

Today, we are going to take the next step and discuss the specific usability and design factors that make Chinese 3-in-1 button machines far less effective than single-size American-made button makers which, we reiterate, can be purchased in all-in-one button maker kits that are less expensive than the single multi-purpose Chinese-made machine.

So, where do we start with the usability comparison? Simply put, there is no comparison.

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So Many Options with 6″ Buttons

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One of the most commonly asked – and important – questions that we get from potential button makers is: what size button is right for our project? It’s a great question. With so many different button size options available, it can be hard to narrow it down and choose the one that perfectly fits your particular project.

While the 2.25″ button is the most common and versatile button size that we sell, it is just one of many. In today’s post we are going to talk about a button size that doesn’t get enough credit or pub; but hey, even big buttons need love too.

So here are a variety of uses for the 6″ button.

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Announcing our first ever Twitter contest!

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Some 702 tweets ago (as of this post) we launched our Twitter account: @ABMachines. Since our first tweet, we have been privileged enough to be followed by more 3,000 button, craft, and smiley face enthusiasts.

We would be lying if we said that we expected to achieve that kind of following in such a short amount of time, and we certainly are honored and humbled by it. As you know if you follow us, we look at it as a responsibility to tweet and retweet useful content regularly and to respond to any messages you send us via Twtter.

And today, we are excited to announce that, as a thank you and show of appreciation, we are going to give all of our Twitter followers the opportunity receive a discount on their next purchase of a button making system from ABM.

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Creative Fundraising Ideas for Schools: Personalized Buttons and Novelty Items

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One of the greatest and most rewarding uses of a button machine is the creation of novelty items that can be an excellent addition to your list of creative fundraising ideas. Many schools, from the elementary level all the way up to high schools and colleges, have made the relatively small investment in a button machine to create personalized promotional buttons for clubs, causes, and classes.

American Button Machines has published an extensive feature article about using a button machine to create pinback buttons for promotional and fundraising purposes. So why is purchasing a button machine and making your own novelty buttons an excellent creative fundraising idea?

Let’s count the ways.

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Customer Spotlight: Monkey Threads

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We’ve got a quick new Customer Spotlight entry for you today, and it comes courtesy of Twitter.

As I try do at least once every week, I logged in today to see if anyone had messaged us or if anyone had any button making-related questions I could answer. Much to my excitement, there were a few messages. (This is typically what happens, but it’s still exciting every time! And that’s why you should follow us.)

One of the messages was from Twitter user @MonkeyThreads and said the following:

@ABMACHINES I worked my machine making 100 wedding favors. http://www.etsy.com/listing/37116137/bottle-opener-i-heart-my-wife-225-inches

Naturally I clicked on the link, and what I found was, indeed, quite the wedding favor!

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